“It’s lonely if you’re a dog and you’re not sure what’s happening or where you are going next.”                    —GAGE

 

On the road again

Goin’ places that I’ve never been

Seein’ things that I may never see again

And I can’t wait to get on the road again[1]

 

I admit to the kind of nasal, kind of throaty sound of Willie Nelson singing his song, as having a kind of emotional tug on a boy growing up among fields of grain as far as the eye can see. The smell of damp straw in the early morning and wheat kernels in your hand at the end of the day, never swept clean from the corners of your mind, never replaced by city smells and busy streets, crowded sidewalks and high-rise buildings, grocery stores and coffee shops. Two worlds. I’ve lived them both.

 

And now I’m on the road again.

 

The road is not quite as fresh, exciting, challenging, stirring, as it once was when with four other guys our voices blended over network radio and in churches large and small, or when as a young evangelist with wife and baby daughter, we went from town to town telling the story of Jesus, hoping lives would be changed by our having been there. Years on the road have been spent telling the story to high school kids and college students, shepherding souls in three churches, living with and telling the story to America’s new elders.

 

Willie writes, “The life I love is making music with my friends

And I can’t wait to get on the road again.”

 

The road has been different for me than for Willie.

“The life I love is telling the story of Jesus to my friends

But being on the road again?

Well, I miss being with the countless friends we have made on the journey.

 

So I am on the road again, but why?

 

I am leaving what soon be a 6-year home for me at TimberRidge of Talus in Issaquah, Washington, a family of 480 new elders and a 3+ year-old Fellowship that is an amazing part of my journey. Like every other place along the road, I thought I might live here forever. But I’m a follower of Jesus. When he calls I know it is time to go.

 

My road ends next in Central Washington’s high desert community of Wenatchee, where GAGE the wonder dog and I will live with my daughter and son-in-law, blending into the Columbia River apple, pear, grape agro culture with members of family I left behind 70 years ago. Full circle. And I will write.

 

My TimberRidge apartment

is 90 percent packed now. It looks like Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction.”[2] That is reason enough for me to be glad to be on the road again. My work here is done. A clear voice for Christ has been established. The work continues on a good foundation. The best, most fruitful days here are still ahead. I believe the same is also true for me as GAGE and I head out again.

 

To all those somewhere along the road of my past, and to you who still cause my road to be an inspiring journey, my prayer is for Jesus to always keep us close.

 

 

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SEPTEMBER STRIKE: a Cain Family Thriller, (use the full title when ordering) the first novel in my new Cain Family series is available now. Unfortunately, for reasons known only to Amazon, it is not yet available in their online store.

If you want the print version before Christmas (maybe to gift family members or friends?) visit Barnes and Nobel.com for 1-2 day delivery.

The ebook is not available yet. We will let you know when.

 

 

[1]On the Road Again

a popular song written and sung by Willie Nelson

On the Road Again lyrics © Full Nelson Music Inc., Embassy Music Corp.

[2] Eve Of Destruction

  a popular song written and sung by Barry McGuire